1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to line trimming devices and more particularly, to a dolly for receiving and mounting a line trimming device or apparatus and mowing, edging and trimming a lawn by operation of the line trimming apparatus. The dolly of this invention is broadly characterized by a universal dolly adapted for receiving a gasoline-powered line trimmer, a molded plastic dolly which is designed to receive and carry an electric line trimmer and dolly base members which are adapted to receive either an electric or a gasoline-powered line trimmer for various lawn mowing, trimming and edging functions.
One of the problems which exists in the use of conventional electric and gasoline-powered lawn mowers is that of cutting grass to a uniform height on lawns characterized by uneven terrain. Since the spacing between the front and rear wheels of a conventional lawn mower typically ranges from about 18 inches to about 30 inches, depending upon the lawn mower design, grass which is cut from the top of small hummocks and hills, as well as on other uneven terrain is frequently shorter than that cut on level terrain or in small valleys. Nor is this problem alleviated by cutting the grass in a direction perpendicular to the normal direction of lawn mower travel, since the width of the wheels ranges from about 8 inches to about 24 inches and this distance mandates cutting the grass either higher or shorter than desired, depending upon the nature of the terrain traversed by the lawn mower.
Conventional line trimmers such as the line trimmer marketed under the well known "Weed Eater" trademark are frequently used to trim grass in inaccessible areas where lawn mowers cannot be operated or in hilly or irregular areas where the terrain will not permit a lawn mower to cut the grass at a uniform height. However, since line trimmers are held by hand, cutting of the grass to a uniform height in such areas is extremely difficult and frequently results in "scalping" of the lawn or cutting and trimming the grass unevenly in these areas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Line edgers and trimmers have long been known and used for trimming and edging lawns and other grassy and weed-infested areas. Typical of these devices are the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,047,299, and 3,859,776. Accessory devices are also used in connection with "edgers" and line trimmers and typical of these devices is the attachment described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,749, dated June 28, 1971, to Gerald P. Sauer, entitled "A Lawn Edger Attachment For A Power Saw". In this patent the saw blade of an electric power saw is replaced with a two-side ground cutter blade and the power saw is attached to and carried by a wheeled carrier. A shoe on the power saw is attached to a base plate of the carrier and the shoe and cutter blade are adjustable relative to each other, in order to adjust the blade cutting height. A pivotally-mounted handle, by which the carrier may be pushed, carries a switch for stopping and starting the electric motor which drives the saw. The carrier base plate is supported on three wheels for ease of turning and maneuvering. An " Attachment For Line Trimmer" is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,784, dated Sept. 30, 1980, to Lee A. Hansen. This device is designed to convert a line trimmer to an edge trimmer and includes a collar with support legs attached thereto and wheels attached to the support legs. A U-shaped brace extends between the support legs, in order to hold the support legs at an angle with respect to each other. The collar is placed loosely around the handle of an existing line trimmer and the line trimmer is inverted, in order to present the spool thereof perpendicular to the ground. The legs are inserted into the collar and the collar is then secured to the handle, with the head of the line trimmer located between the ends of the U-shaped brace. U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,178, dated Jan. 26, 1982, to Allie Callaghan, details a "Lawn Edging Machine". The patent discloses a balanced, self-propelled and manually guided lawn edger in which an edging cutter blade is positioned near the inner side and rearwardly of the larger of two traction wheels of unequal diameter, mounted on a common drive axle. The smaller traction wheel can be axially adjusted relative to the larger wheel to regulate the angle of cut adjacent to a side wall or a curbing. A "Dolly For Lawn Trimmer and Combination Thereof" is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,659, dated Apr. 17, 1984, to H. J. Enbusk. The patent details a trimmer supported on a dolly, each of which trimmer and dolly is provided with a handle. The operator holds the dolly handle in one hand and the trimmer handle in the other hand and the trimmer is pivotally connected to the dolly, whereby movement of the handle of the trimmer relative to the dolly handle changes the approach angle of the trimmer relative to the movement of the dolly. The pivoted connection is positioned forward of the dolly wheels, whereby raising and lowering the dolly handle effects lowering and raising of the trimmer and the corresponding depth of cut. The pivoted connection includes adjustment means to adjust the positions of the trimmer relative to the dolly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,680, dated May 8, 1984, to Thomas C. D'Alessandro, details a "Battery Powered Lawn Edger". The device includes a frame supported on at least three wheels, which frame securely carries one or more rechargeable wet-cell batteries, as well as a pivotally-mounted sub-assembly having a heavy duty, series-wound drive motor, a rigid edger blade mounted on the drive motor output shaft and a blade guard. Recharging may be accomplished by interconnection to a conventional automotive charging system, a battery charger or to a 115-volt power source. The blade is positioned to rotate in a plane generally perpendicular to the ground and a blade-positioning lever is pivotally attached to the main guide handle for vertical adjustment of the blade. A drive motor on-off switch attachable to the handle is also provided and a removable cover may be provided for protecting the battery energizers. One or more of the wheels may also include drive means for locomotion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,544, dated Aug. 7, 1984, to Anthony Carsello, et al, details an "Edger". The edger is provided with a rotatable cutting blade for trimming grass, weeds and the like. The cutting blade is driven by a motor mounted within a motor housing which is, in turn, supported for rotation about a longitudinal axis between a front wheel assembly and a rear wheel assembly. A locking mechanism is carried by the motor housing and is provided with a pair of spring-biased lugs normally received into locking recesses in the front and rear wheel assemblies to lock the motor housing into a selected rotational position and thereby lock the cutting blade at a selected angular orientation.
It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved dolly for a line trimming apparatus, which dolly is characterized by a split frame for removably receiving the body of a line trimmer and removable wheel-carrying front, rear and side legs for adapting the line trimmer to edge, trim and mow grass.
Another object of the invention is to provide a dolly for receiving and adapting a line trimming apparatus to edge, mow and trim grass, which dolly includes a metal or injection-molded dolly frame for receiving the body of a line trimming apparatus, a dolly cap adapted for removable attachment to the frame to secure the line trimming apparatus to the frame and removable legs fitted with wheels, for selectively positioning on the dolly and converting the dolly into trim, mow and edge configurations, respectively.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a universal dolly for receiving and mounting a gasoline or an electric-powered line trimming apparatus, which dolly is characterized by removable wheels, wherein the line trimming apparatus can be utilized to mow, edge or trim a lawn or yard by operation of the dolly.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a molded plastic dolly for receiving and mounting an electrically-operated line trimmer, which dolly includes removable front, rear and side wheels, in order to facilitate operation of the line trimmer and the dolly to mow, trim and/or edge a lawn.
Another object of this invention is to provide a wheeled dolly base which is characterized by a frame and at least two wheels rotatably mounted on the frame in spaced relationship, which frame is further adapted to receive and mount a dolly carrying a line trimmer or a line trimmer, in order to facilitate mowing, trimming and/or edging of a lawn or yard by operation of the line trimmer and the dolly base.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a dolly base which is characterized by an elongated frame, a pair of wheels located at each end of the frame, which frame is adapted to receive and mount a line trimmer such that the line trimmer and dolly cooperate to facilitate edging of a lawn or yard.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved dolly and dolly base for receiving a line trimmer and selectively orienting the line trimmer into various configurations for mowing, edging and trimming a lawn or yard and arranging the wheel configurations on the dolly and dolly base such that line can be automatically extended from the line trimmer spool by periodically contacting the spool with the ground.
Another object of this invention is to provide a dolly base for receiving a line trimmer, which dolly base is provided with a generally triangular-shaped frame with a wheel rotatably provided at each apex of the frame and the frame adapted to receive, mount and operate the line trimmer to mow and trim a lawn.